HDFC Bank, in collaboration with FCB Kinnect, launches a campaign titled ‘EOSS: End of Scam Sale’ aimed at raising awareness about online fraud and protecting consumers from falling victim to fraudulent schemes during end-of-season sales.
The campaign features the creation of a fictitious fashion brand called ‘Lulumelon,’ which bears similarities to the legitimate apparel brand ‘Lululemon.’ Using deepfake technology, HDFC Bank’s anti-fraud influencer, Vigil Aunty, morphs herself into the likeness of Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi. This tactic mirrors the strategies employed by fraudsters to entice unsuspecting consumers with enticing discounts and offers.
Through Lulumelon’s Instagram page, images and videos of Nora Fatehi promoting discounts captivate audiences. However, upon visiting the brand’s landing page, users discover the truth – they have been ‘scammed’ in a protective sense by HDFC Bank. This simulated experience serves as a reminder for consumers to exercise caution when shopping online.
What distinguishes this campaign is HDFC Bank’s willingness to temporarily risk its reputation to safeguard consumers from potential fraud. By leveraging AI and machine learning technologies, HDFC Bank replicates the tactics of fraudsters, providing consumers with firsthand experience to recognize and avoid fraudulent schemes.
The campaign commenced on January 20th and culminated in a reveal video on Nora Fatehi’s Instagram page on January 23rd. Through this initiative, HDFC Bank and FCB Kinnect demonstrate their commitment to combating online fraud and empowering consumers to make informed decisions in the digital realm.
“Discounts are a big part of the Indian psychology, which makes it so easy for AI to give an illusion of something genuine just by throwing a couple of mind-blowing offers around. This coupled with optimism bias, which is the perception that nothing wrong could happen to oneself was what led us to create a convincing fake brand called ‘Lulumelon’ and we hope that it bursts people’s bubble of invincibility. We had a lot of fun getting our creative and media teams to think like that of a scamster,” Kartikeya Tiwari, national creative director, FCB Kinnect, said.
“Many people fall victim to scams because of a false sense of security, believing it could never happen to them. We used deepfakes since they have been rampant in our society off late, with celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna, Sachin Tendulkar, and Alia Bhatt, among others also falling victim to it. Yet, people are still missing the extent to which they can cause real harm to us. Knowing how fraudsters use End of Season Sales as a window to lure shoppers with deals that are too good to be true, we defrauded people, to raise awareness and educate them about real fraud. However, we kept in mind that this must be done responsibly and ethically. To give this initiative a real and impactful meaning, we went a step further by investing time and resources in creating authentic deepfakes using advanced machinery. This allowed us to simulate realistic scenarios and demonstrate the potential risks associated with falling for deceptive practices, ensuring that all red flags can be seen and understood by the public,” Jahid Ahmed, senior vice president and head of digital acquisition, website, social media and content marketing, HDFC Bank, said.
“I have seen the video and information conveyed through the conversation of Nora Fatehi and Vigil Aunty is so meaningful to the citizens wherein they can easily corelate it to the new age crimes like deep fake, fake videos, fake audios which might be misused in carrying out cyber-crimes and financial frauds also. Sincerely appreciate the efforts of HDFC Bank in thinking out of the box for keeping the citizens informed and aware on the subject matter,” Naveen Jakhar, I.T.S, assistant director general (AI & DIU)- Artificial Intelligence and Digital Intelligence Unit, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, said.